Day 2: Je suis fasciné avec toi

After having slept a marathon 16 hours, I woke up to the smell of coffee wafting up from the kitchen downstairs. Once fortified with cafe et croissant, we ventured out into the bright, frosty morning. It was truly a "blue, true dream of sky" kind of day, and I'm glad we savored it because it was to be the only sunny day we'd have in Paris.

I set off on foot for the Marais district on the other side of the river, my friend's list of recommended boutiques in one hand, camera in the other. Once I turned onto rue Vielle du Temple, I noticed a sudden vibrant shift in color. Cobalt blue, aquamarine, bright yellow and pink... definitely my kind of neighborhood.


Shop windows offered glimpses of delectable sweets inside...


And facades were equally elaborately adorned.


After an omelette lunch at a Jewish bakery/cafe it was onto the Metro to visit Printemps (the creme de la creme of department stores).
There were elaborate Christmas light fixtures dangling all around the entrance:


And from the rooftop I caught my first view of you-know-who:



Inside I did not, sadly, find the lovely purple ballet flats on my wishlist, but I did find a hat-making boutique selling rolls and rolls of gorgeous ribbon. I can't wait to start making new jewelry with the silken, gossamer strands I found there.

The Paris Opera was just a few streets away, so we stopped by long enough for a few photos.



The last stop was Fauchon (a gourmand's paradise), where some indescribable fruit jellies were purchased, and then it was back to St Michel (limping by this time) for dinner and well-earned dessert.